Because That's The Way It Is
by nightwatchman707
Summary: James left Team Rocket 4 years ago, parting on bittersweet terms with Jessie and Meowth. Now married (thankfully to a sane person!) with his criminal past behind him, he gets the shock of his life when they appear on his doorstep, injured and on the run.
1. Chapter 1

**Well this is a new category for me. This little brainfart came to me while I was sitting on the bus on the way to the ninth circle of Hell...uh I mean work and wouldn't get out of my head until I wrote it. I have ideas for one more chapter but after that don't really know so feedback would be dearly appreciated.**

**I will also say that while I have made a vague attempt to follow canon to a certain degree in the backstory I have only actually seen about a season and a half of the anime and those weren't in the right order so if it is too far out just call it AU lol.**

**Olivia belongs to me, all other characters are the property of...well actually I don't even know who owns what anymore but the point here is that I mean no copyright infringement, you can have them back when I am done messing with their heads and suing me would be pointless as I have a grand total of £48 to my name.**

Jessie gasped for breath as she stumbled through the rain, up the path and rang the bell. She was praying that she had found the right place, that he still lived here. She didn't know where else to go if he didn't. Every day they were drawing closer and had almost caught her in the last town. She was out of places to hide and James was the only person she could trust now. The only person left with whom she could safely leave Meowth.

The door opened and she found herself facing a woman around her own age. She was pretty with a heart shaped face and curly brown hair. She was also smiling. At least until she saw the state of the woman on her doorstep.

"Oh, my... Are you all right?"

Olivia kicked herself mentally for the question as soon as it slipped out of her mouth. Of course the girl wasn't all right.

She took a second to take in the sight before her. An exhausted girl stood before her. She had long pink hair that was currently hanging in wet tangles around her face and was wearing some kind of white uniform. She couldn't get a clear look at the insignia on the front as the girl was clutching a small blanket wrapped bundle against her chest. A baby? She couldn't tell. The girl's face was bruised and there was a painful looking gash above her right eyebrow that was bleeding freely.

Jessie could only imagine how she and Meowth must look. Pretty shocking if the look on this one's face was any indication.

"I'm looking for James, James Morgan. I..I thought he lived here but..."

Jessie tailed off, unsure of herself now that she was faced with the prospect that James actually wasn't here and she had no idea of where else to look for him.

"Oh, he does!" Olivia interjected quickly. "Come in, please, I'll get him. James! James, come down, quickly!" The last was shouted over her shoulder as she ushered Jessie into the house and closed the door behind her.

"What is with all the shouti..." James stopped dead in mid sentence as he saw Jessie.

"Hi, James." She whispered.

He couldn't believe what he was looking at. It had been 4 years since he had last seen Jessie and they hadn't parted on great terms. He had felt trapped in Team Rocket and had just wanted out but Jessie hadn't wanted to leave with him. Team Rocket was the only real home she had ever had and she had ultimately been too afraid to strike out on her own. So the partnership had ended on a bitter sweet note with anger and tears and feelings of betrayal and abandonment on both sides.

His first instinct was to furiously demand to know what the Hell she was doing here but the words caught in his throat as he looked at her. She was a mess. Soaked to the skin, bruised and bleeding and clutching something wrapped in a blanket in her arms.

"I'm so sorry, James I didn't know what else to do. There's no where else I can take him!"

His brain finally caught up and he realised she was holding the bundle out to him.

He took a step towards her and realisation hit him. The bundle was Meowth.

"What HAPPENED?" He asked in disbelief as he took Meowth and unwrapped the blanket. The Pokemon was pretty battered and looked as though he had taken one heck of a beating but he was breathing steadily and his heartbeat was strong. A fact that had comforted Jessie to no end as she had made her slow progress to the house where she had been praying to find her old partner.

"I can't tell you all of it, I don't have time. They're after me, James, they're close and Meowth can't be with me when they catch me. You have to keep him safe."

"Jessie, who's after you, what's going on?!"

James was running out of patience. It was obviously big whatever it was. Jessie looked terrified and had evidently taken a beating herself.

"Team Rocket, who do you think!" There was a spark of the old Jessie.

"Why are Team Rocket after you?"

"I stabbed the Boss."

James didn't even know how to respond to that. He just stared at her in disbelief until she continued.

"I didn't kill him! I just stabbed him, he was going to kill Meowth, I had to stop him so I just grabbed this letter opener and I stabbed him with it and ran and now they're after me and I can't let them get Meowth!"

She blurted the whole thing out in one breath and promptly burst into tears, clearly too overwhelmed by the whole situation to keep her composure.

James swore under his breath and reached out to hug her, pulling her close and rubbing a hand up and down her back.

"Shhh, Jess, don't. It'll be all right." He muttered, aware even as he said it that he was lying through his teeth. He didn't believe it any more than she did.

"He saved my life." Jessie sobbed, voice muffled against his shoulder.

"Who, Meowth?"

"Yeah. The Boss totally lost it and he was beating me and he wasn't stopping and Meowth just flew at him."

James winced slightly at the image. It must have been some thrashing for Meowth to turn on the Boss. He could see Olivia staring at him over Jessie's head, obviously not knowing what to do or say.

Gesturing for her to come closer, he handed the unconscious Meowth off to her, enabling him to wrap both arms around Jessie. Holding her close he rocked her gently back and forth until the tears subsided.

"Come on. Lets clean those cuts up and take care of Meowth." He said, carefully disentangling himself.

Jessie drew away from him, sniffling and nodded her agreement. It didn't take long to patch up Meowth and he was soon resting comfortably in James room. James took the opportunity, while Jessie was in the shower, to talk to his wife whom he thought had been remarkably supportive about the whole thing considering she had no idea who Jessie and Meowth were or what was going on.

"James, honey, who is she? Who is this Boss? Why would he hurt her and her Pokemon like that?"

Olivia sounded thoroughly confused. James had never told her much about his time with Team Rocket, just that he used to be an agent and steal Pokemon for the organisation.

"I'm sorry, Liv, I never wanted you to know about the life I used to lead. You know I was a part of Team Rocket?"

She nodded.

"Well, Jessie was my partner, Rocket agents are always sent out in pairs. We were together for years, right through our training. Meowth isn't hers, he was assigned to help us as a teammate. When I left Team Rocket I left them both behind, they didn't want to go. We didn't part easily, there were arguments and fights and it ended with us just screaming at each other and crying and me begging her to come with me and she was begging me to stay. We were best friends, you see. I haven't seen her now for 4 years."

He trailed off, unable to continue. He knew it was silly but he couldn't help feeling responsible. As though he could have prevented it if he had stayed although he knew it was far more likely that he would have been beaten into the ground right along with them and it would probably have been him that she stabbed the Boss defending.

He heard the shower shut off and picked up the first aid kit.

"I'm going to go see about patching her up a bit." He said awkwardly.

Olivia nodded but didn't answer and he wondered if she was angry with him for allowing Jessie and Meowth to stay. What else could he have done though? He'd had his oldest friend falling apart in his arms after being beaten to within an inch of her life and Meowth so battered and exhausted that he hadn't woken even with all the commotion; how could he possibly have turned them away. Even after all that time and a less that amicable end to their partnership, he still loved them, despite everything.

Making his way up the stairs he knocked softly on the bathroom door.

"Jess? You decent?"

He received no reply for a moment but then the door slowly opened to reveal Jessie standing there wrapped in a long blue bathrobe that he recognised as one of his own. She looked more vulnerable than he had seen her in a long time. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and tear stained and she looked so damn _young_.

He held up the first aid kit.

"Need some help?"

She nodded and stepped back to let him in.

10 minutes later they were sat on the edge of the bathtub with James attempting to close the cut on her forehead with butterfly strips and debating aloud whether or not she needed stitches. Deciding that she didn't, he packed away the kit and stood up. Noticing her wince upon standing he reached out and before she had time to protest he had slipped his hands inside the robe and was feeling her bruised ribs for breaks. Her eyes met his for a second and he flashed back to all the times it had been her checking him for injuries after a particularly violent blast off and a rough landing and he wondered why he was suddenly feeling so awkward with her.

He removed his hands and shook his head attempting to hide his embarrassment.

"Nothing broken. You should be gentle with them though, the bruising is pretty bad."

She nodded, looking as out of place as he felt.

Olivia appeared in the doorway then and James was fervently grateful that she hadn't arrived a moment earlier while he was checking Jessie's ribs. He figured that would have been harder to explain, given that he had been blushing like a teenager. Funny thing was he was pretty sure he had never been that shy around Jessie when they _were _both teenagers.

"I've made up the guest room for you, Jessie. You should stay tonight and get some rest."

She sounded tired and James looked up at her. _Really _looked at her for the first time since Jessie had arrived. She looked tired and strained with worry and he immediately felt bad for bringing this kind of trouble into their home. He couldn't bring himself to regret taking Jessie in though. She was his friend and she needed him.

An hour later he lay awake in bed worrying. Olivia wasn't mad, he knew just anxious about what would happen if Jessie and Meowth were found here. He was worried about it too. He knew the Boss had allowed him to leave because it was less trouble than finding and dealing with him but if he could kill two or even three birds with one stone...

James sighed. It didn't bear thinking about. He was worried about Jessie too. Meowth had come round for a while and was now sleeping curled up on the guest bed with Jessie and seemed to be on the mend but she still seemed fragile. Like she had endured so much of late that one more blow would break her. Rubbing a hand through his hair, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep. He would think about it in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

**On a roll! Never put out two chapters one after the other before so am happy! :D But no reviews :( **

**Have NO idea whatsoever where this is going so I welcome helpful suggestions. Rating may go up in future chapters but I doubt it will be anything too bad. There is a reference in here about James being carried down a mountain which I don't actually know where it came from. I actually dreamed it but whether it was based on an episode that I had seen previously or on a fic written by someone else I don't know. I have looked for it but have been unable to come up with any references to it so I am assuming that my subconscious mind is just a freak. If it sounds like something you wrote please do let me know. If anyone is curious about it I will write it as a little side thing.**

James slept badly that night and woke early. He lay there for several moments trying to get his head around his situation. Looking round in response to a sound from the other side of the room he smiled as he saw Chimecho watching him.

"I'm completely screwed, aren't I?" He asked it. It chimed softly in sympathy and drifted across the room to wrap its tail around his head, covering his eyes playfully.

Olivia woke to the sound of James laughing and Chimecho delightedly avoiding his hands as he tried to squirm out of its hold. She grinned watching them and wondered how on earth her husband could ever have become involved with an organisation like Team Rocket when part of him seemed to be stuck at the age of ten. Try as she might she couldn't conjure up the image of him stealing Pokemon, treating them as property, not when she watched him playing with Chimecho, treating it with such gentleness and affection. It was obvious with all his Pokemon how much he loved them.

James had worked his way free of Chimecho, grabbed hold of it and was tickling it mercilessly as it wriggled happily and tried to wrap around his eyes again. Olivia smirked, grabbed a pillow and whacked the pair of them with it, sending Chimecho bobbing out of the room, making odd little noises of mirth which they had learned to interpret as laughter.

James turned back to his wife still smiling from his Pokemon's antics. She gave him a sympathetic half smile.

"How did you sleep?"

"Badly." He replied with a sigh. "I keep thinking of all the ways this could possibly go horrendously wrong."

"You're worried they'll find her here?" She asked.

"A little. More worried about them finding her at all. She wasn't exaggerating when she said Meowth saved her life. The Boss has a nasty temper, always did have. If he finds her, he _will_ kill her. Probably both of them. He used to have a bit of a soft spot for Meowth but I think that bridge is burnt."

"You still care about her then?"

"Of course!" James was shocked, "She was my _best friend _for more than 8 years, of course I still care about her. You don't just stop loving someone like that!"

"All right," She soothed gently. "I was just making an observation, no need to get defensive. I don't know what Team Rocket was like, do I?"

He drew a deep breath and tried to calm down. She was right and she wasn't to know. How _could _she know? Even he didn't really understand the bond he had with Jessie and he was pretty sure Jessie didn't really understand it either. They just accepted it for what it was. They had never even really acknowledged it. They just knew that the other would always be there.

"We take care of each other." He said after a moment. "Always. No matter what."

"Even if one of us was a total bitch?" The shaky question came from out in the hallway and he looked up to find Jessie stood there, Chimecho hovering next to her with its tail draped over her shoulder.

He rubbed his palms over his face tiredly.

"Haven't we always?" He asked. "Besides..." He cracked a smile. "I still owe you for that thing with the Gastly and the flame thrower."

Jessie looked for a second as though she might burst into tears again but settled for launching herself at him and hugging him so tightly that he wondered if he might suffocate. Returning the gesture, he idly wondered if he did suffocate how they would explain that to the paramedics. Although he supposed that suffocating in bed with two women wouldn't necessarily be considered the worst way to go.

Noticing that Olivia was looking distinctly uncomfortable with the emotional display happening next to her; he gently eased Jessie away from him, giving her a second to compose herself before letting go.

She sniffed and wiped her face.

"Sorry," She muttered. "But now we're even for that time I had to carry you down a mountain."

With that she got up and left the room, touching Chimecho lightly on the head as she passed it, leaving James wincing at the memory and Olivia looking confused.

"Why did you have to be carried down a mountain, honey?"

James hurried downstairs after hurriedly glossing over the mountain incident which had involved an argument, a terrifying fall, a bloody head wound, an awkward piggyback and an extremely embarrassing collect call to the Boss. To say nothing of the conversations they had apparently had while he was heavily concussed and hypothermic. Conversations which Jessie had found hilarious once James was no longer in immediate danger of freezing or bleeding to death.

Entering the kitchen he was met with the familiar sight of Jessie threatening Meowth with a rolling pin, devoid of her trademark mallet, she was having to improvise. Meowth was cowering but still seemed unable to shut his mouth and was apparently cruising for a bruising if the look on Jessie's face was any indication.

"You knows I'm right, no matter how much you deny it!" Meowth howled as he dodged blows.

James hastily stepped in and divested Jessie of her weapon, ducking a blow himself in the process.

"Jess, he's still recovering, maybe you shouldn't be hitting him just yet."

"Yeah! You shouldn't be hittin Meowth! Don't ya know I almost died, saving you!" He yelled from behind James, who, sensing an impending explosion of temper, positioned himself between them and attempted to separate the two.

"Jess, STOP!" Everyone froze at his raised voice. "I know you're wound up, we all are but PLEASE stop fighting! Its not helping anything."

She was about to snap at him, lash out in anger but forced herself to stop. She took a deep breath and when that didn't help took another. She forced herself to keep breathing deeply and not look at Meowth because just seeing his smug face, thinking that he knew everything, was making her angry.

Finally calming down, Jessie ran her hands through her hair and resisted the urge to kick something in sullen temper.

"Sorry, James," She muttered. "I think all this is getting to me a little."

"You're not the only one. We need to talk, Jessie, I need to know what happened between you and the Boss."

She hesitated not wanting James to know exactly what had led up to that desperate fight for her and Meowth's lives. Meowth however didn't seem to have any such issue.

"The Boss got fed up with us always failin, see, so he pulled us in and said if we were no use to him in the field then Jess, could at least be useful in other Mpffff!"

He was cut off abruptly by Jessie's hand clamping over his mouth and she promptly let out a yelp as he bit her and continued.

"He wanted to use Jess for...OW! MEEEEOWTH! What was that for?!"

"Shut your big Meowth!" She snapped. "I told you before, I don't want James knowing about that!"

"Knowing about what, Jessie? What did he want you to do?" James was starting to dread the answer but he had to know.

"He wanted to use her for sex!" Meowth screeched, sidestepping Jessie's furious lunge. "Sorry, Jess but you got to tell him! He's gonna find out anyway!"

James grabbed Meowth and thrust the cat behind him, well out of Jessie's reach.

"Jess, is that true?" He asked her softly. "Please, Jessie, just tell me. Its me, you don't have to hide anything from me."

"Not just for him." She whispered after a moment. "He wanted to use me as some kind of reward for others. Do a good job and you get to..." She couldn't finish. "So now you know. And you can't protect that damn cat forever, I swear, when I get hold of you, Meowth...!"

Shaking her head she stormed out of the room, cheeks blazing red in humiliation and anger.

James just turned and stared helplessly at Meowth, not knowing what to do.

"Now I see why you fought for her. I knew it must be big for you to turn on the Boss like that but I never thought..."

"I couldn't let that happen ta her, Jimmy" Meowth's accent was thickening as it always did when he was stressed. "She's gonna kill me for tellin ya that ya know. But you'se two always told each other everyt'ing and it ain't right that you'se protectin us and ya don't even know what from!"

"You did the right thing." James reassured him, still trying to take it all in. "And she won't kill you, just steer clear for a bit and I'll talk to her when she calms down. Just apologise to her later before dinner. You know she never lets a fight last more than 5 minutes into dessert."

"This ain't no ordinary fight." Meowth replied glumly.

James didn't answer him, too busy trying to work out what the Hell he was going to say to Jessie. He knew he had to talk to her but had no idea what to say. She was clearly embarrassed to have James know what the Boss had intended and he had no idea how to put things right with her nor how to repair their rapidly deteriorating relationship. He had thought that morning that they were starting to repair the damage to their friendship but now he wasn't sure. He sighed. This was going to be one Hell of a day and they hadn't even had breakfast yet.

"Come on." He said resignedly, looking at Meowth. "I'll make us pancakes."

**So...Review? Just a little one? I luffles them ;p Go on, you know you want to! Pretty, silver button...**


	3. Chapter 3

**At the moment this story is focusing mostly on the relationships between the characters and J  
+J's attempt the rebuild their friendship and due to lack of information I am pretty much making up my own version of their pasts. I'm trying to keep mostly to canon but love to insert references to conversations and things that didn't really happen and then writing them as little side stories later. I figure this is all for fun anyway so I can screw around with their heads all I like :p**

James couldn't get back through the door fast enough. In the process of walking ten minutes to the store for milk he had seen at least 6 people that he suspected were Team Rocket agents and another 3 who definitely were. He had ducked into a Pokemon accessory shop to avoid those he recognised and as a result he now had a very annoyed Mime Jr wearing an admittedly cute suit.

He suppressed a grin as he helped the indignant little Pokemon out of the hideous outfit.

"Sorry, little buddy. Look at it as taking one for the team."

"MIME!" He didn't need Meowth to translate that.

"What did ya DO to him? Poor lil guy!" Meowth sympathised, reaching out to remove the bow tie.

"Shut up, it was necessary. Has Jessie said anything yet?"

"Nah, she won't come out of her room. Tried ta talk to her but she chucked a shoe at me!"

James winced. No doubt that unenviable task would fall to him. He was hoping that he would come out of the room without any substantial injuries.

Olivia came out of the kitchen clasping a hot mug of chocolate in her hands and he offered her a tired smile, walking past to set the milk on the counter.

"Place is crawling with Rockets." He told her, referring to the town. "They obviously don't know I live here or they would have come looking for Jessie by now."

"Do you think they'll find her?"

"I hope not." He replied. "If they do..."

"They really will kill her won't they?" Olivia asked softly.

"Probably me too, if they find us." He glanced up at her, misinterpreting her expression. "Don't worry, they won't hurt you. They'd probably just drag Jessie and I off and deal with us away from prying eyes. We always were more trouble to them than we were worth."

"I'm not worried about that! I'm scared for you, James, I don't want to lose you! Especially not for the sake of a partner you haven't seen in years!"

"What do you propose?" He snapped back. "Turn her out? That's my best friend, running for her life, do you really think I'd turn my back on her?"

"No, I'm not saying that!" She sighed in frustration. "I won't pretend that I like the woman, James, I don't but she doesn't deserve what they would do if they caught her, of course I'm not saying turn her out. I just don't want them to catch you too."

He softened slightly and took her into his arms. She was tense and fidgety but returned his embrace.

"I know." He murmured quietly.

Upstairs Jessie was finding it hard to settle to anything. She had heard James and Olivia arguing and had guessed that Team Rocket were searching in town for her. The whole situation was making her antsy and filled with a nervous energy that made it hard to sit still. On top of that the humiliation of this morning's fight with Meowth was still fresh in her mind, making her cheeks burn red whenever she thought of it. She couldn't believe he had told James. After she had specifically told him not to.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a light knock at the door.

"Jess?" Can I come in?"

He got no answer and so decided to take that as an invitation and opened the door anyway. He found her lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. She didn't look at him or even acknowledge that he had entered the room.

He sighed and moved to sit beside her.

"Bad news. The town is crawling with field agents. I recognised a few of them but they didn't see me." This got a reaction finally.

"Are you sure, they didn't see you? James, you know the only reason you got away like you did was because Giovanni didn't want to expend resources looking for you. If they think you could cause trouble for them..."

"Relax!" He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I promise they didn't see me."

She relaxed a little and smiled at him.

"Look, James, I just wanted you to know... I really appreciate you taking us in, hiding us like this. I know I never treated you that well but... Look, even if they catch me, I wanted you to know that..."

She trailed off, uncertain of exactly what she was trying to say to him.

"Was there even a whole sentence in there?" He teased, gently. "Its okay, Jessie, I know what you mean and they aren't going to catch you. Even if I have to steal a balloon and take to the skies like old times."

She laughed.

"Hey, Jess? Where did you stab the Boss anyway? You sure you didn't kill him?"

"Wishful thinking." She replied. "I got him in the leg."

James got a wary look on his face. "What were you aiming for?"

The smirk on her face was enough of and answer and he carefully crossed his legs in sympathy as she started laughing again and rolled onto her side facing him.

"Hey, James?"

"Yeah?"

"Lie down for a minute?"

"What?"

"Lie down for a minute. Stop looking at me like that will you, I don't mean like that just... lay with me like we used to."

He stared at her for a few more seconds as though trying to figure out the odd request but finally lay down beside her. It felt strange but still somehow familiar after all these years and he wondered if she had missed it.

He vaguely wondered what Olivia would think if she came upstairs and found them like this. It must be hard for her having Jessie here even without the constant threat of Team Rocket. He and Jessie had always been close and he wondered what Olivia was thinking when she watched them together as they tried to repair their fractured friendship.

He wondered if him being married would change things between him Jessie. Their previous relationship had been fairly touchy feely, at least on his part. He had made sure of it. He remembered the awkward stilted conversations of their early days and how shocked he had been when Jessie had let slip that she had never been hugged.

It had been a conversation about the odd quirks people had and Jessie had said that she didn't like strangers touching her. He had asked why and she had muttered something about being brought up in orphanages and wasn't used to casual contact. He had asked if they didn't ever try and cuddle her and stuff when she was small to which she shook her head with a bemused expression on her face and said that she couldn't actually ever remember being hugged by anyone except her mother who had died when she was five.

She had seemed completely confused at James reaction, not knowing why he seemed to think it was such a big deal. Since that conversation he had taken it upon himself to make a point of casual touches. She had known exactly what he was doing but hadn't resisted or told him to stop and they had quickly become comfortable with each other to the point that even sharing a sleeping bag on subzero nights had been no big deal.

He wondered why it seemed so different now. Whether it was just the length of time since they had last seen each other or if that level of trust was gone forever.

The next thing he knew he was waking up still in Jessie's room. They had moved in their sleep and she was now pressed up against his back, sleeping soundly. He rubbed his hands over his face in an attempt to wake up fully and glanced at the clock. He hadn't been sleeping long, only about an hour and he doubted that Olivia had been up to check on them yet. She had been trying to teach Meowth to make catnip cookies last he saw of them and he could smell them now, obviously out of the oven.

Getting up he wandered downstairs to find Meowth eating one of the freshly baked cookies.

"Hey!" The Pokemon greeted him cheerfully. "I gotta remember how to make these!"

James smiled at him. Meowth never changed, always thinking about his stomach.

"Where's Olivia?"

"Clearing up in da kitchen. Jess still asleep?"

"What are you talking about."

"Ha! Don't be trying that with Meowth, I saw ya sleepin like a couple of Skiddo!"

"Do NOT let Jessie hear you compare her to a GOAT Pokemon!"

Olivia re entered the room at that point and he was forced to stop talking. Not that he let that stop him sending Meowth a threatening glare.

"Hi, honey. How's Jessie doing?"

"Fine, sleeping. She said to thank you for everything you've done."

She hadn't in fact said anything of the sort but he figured he ought to try and keep the peace between the two.

They made some quiet small talk for a while before settling in for the evening to watch TV and unwind a little. Jessie never came downstairs and after a while he went up to use the bathroom and decided on a whim to check on her. He was almost tempted to take a picture at the scene before him but considered that it would probably be hazardous to his health. Jessie was still sleeping in the same position he had left her in except she now had Mime Jr tucked against her stomach, her arms around him and Meowth curled against her chest with his head under her chin.

He snorted with amusement at the sight of her with Meowth. It was rare that he saw them not fighting over the last 24 hours but apparently she had either forgiven him or he had snuck in while she was sleeping and there would be a bloodbath when she woke up. Closing the door he left them to it.

**Go on please, just a little review? It will take one minute and make me happy :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi! Well, new chapter. Bit shorter than usual, sorry. Still taking outrageous liberties with canon, hope you guys don't mind lol.**

**Any of you who are curious about the whole fJames falling off a mountain incident mentioned in chapter 2, it now has its own side story, titled Don't Let go. You can find it on my profile with my other fics, rated M for safety and a few suggestive comments from James but does not contain anything graphic. Probably more PG13 than anything. As always, reviews for either story are appreciated and cherished. :)**

* * *

James woke hours later to find himself slumped in an awkward position on the couch. The TV was still on, bathing the room in an eerie flickering light. His neck was stiff from sleeping at such an angle and for a moment he thought the discomfort was what had woken him. The sensation of eyes watching him made him look round and he nearly jumped out of his skin when he realised Jessie was sitting in the chair across the room.

"Hi." He mumbled hoarsely, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "What are you doing, sitting there in the dark?"

Jessie didn't answer but got up and moved to sit next to him. He was getting a little spooked now, unsure if it was the way the TV cast shadows over everything or the way Jessie was looking at him, not speaking, just watching him. Either way it was really creepy and he wished she would just say something already.

"Jess, what's the matter?"

She reached out and took hold of his hands, pulling them into her lap and twisting her fingers through his.

"Jessie! You're freaking me out here, just talk to me!"

She squeezed his hands firmly and he squeezed back wondering what on Earth was going on.

"The Boss'll hurt him you know?" She said, her voice strangely flat. "If he finds him. Can't let that happen."

"Who, Jess?" James was getting more confused by the minute. "Are you protecting someone? Mondo?"

"Mondo's sweet. Like a little brother except I never wanted one. Kept him well out of it for his own good."

"Then what?"

She didn't answer, instead leaning forward and pressing her lips gently against his in a soft kiss. It was more chaste than anything else and he responded for a moment before he caught himself and pulled away.

"What...Why? Jessie?!" He couldn't even formulate a question, too shocked at what had just happened.

"Goodbye. Just in case. A just in case goodbye."

"They won't catch you!"

"If its me or James. I'll protect him. He's my best friend."

"Jessie, I am Jame..." Suddenly he realised what was wrong. That blank, vacant look in her eyes and the monotone voice.

"Jess, are you asleep?"

"Probably." She agreed. "Or maybe you are? If I wasn't dreaming, I never would've done that, you know."

He looked at her in disbelief, not sure whether to be more surprised that she dreamed about kissing him or disturbed that he had just had a conversation with her without noticing that she wasn't awake.

Taking advantage of their still joined hands he stood and tugged her to her feet. He started to lead her from the room and nearly had a heart attack when he saw the figure standing on the stairs. Resisting the urge to clutch Jessie in fear, just for old times sake he took a deep breath and let it out in a rush as he realised that the figure was his wife.

"Olivia? God, does no one in this house sleep?"

"I wondered where you were." She said quietly.

He realised that her eyes were on his hands still linked with Jessie's and quickly tried to reassure her.

"Oh, its not what it looks like! I fell asleep downstairs, woke up to find her sitting there in the dark. Nearly scared me to death. She's asleep though, aren't you?" He directed the last part to Jessie.

"I don't think so...maybe?" Jessie sounded confused.

"You're sleeping, Jess. Come on, go back to bed." He told her gently.

"Bed?"

"Yeah. Look come this way." He tugged her up the stairs and opened the door to her room, giving her a light push inside. She wandered over to the bed, glanced back at him then crawled in and lay down. She was out almost instantly.

He pulled the door shut and turned to see Olivia looking at him.

"Does she normally sleepwalk?"

"No," He replied. "I didn't even know she wasn't awake at first, it was only when she started talking and it wasn't making any sense and she was talking about me like I wasn't there that I realised she was asleep."

He wondered how much Olivia had seen from the stairs and how long she had been stood there. He decided it was probably best to come clean on the kiss just in case she had seen it.

"She was acting so strange." He continued. "She just came over and kissed me and then told me it was goodbye, just in case."

"In case of what?"

"In case they kill her, I guess. Like I said she wasn't making a lot of sense."

"James, is there anything...was there ever anything between you two?"

She sounded so uncertain that he wanted nothing more than to reassure her. So he lied.

"No. We've never been together like that."

He and Jessie had in fact slept together. It was a long time ago, but they had. It had never really been romantic, more of a best friends with occasional, really good benefits kind of thing but she had once been as familiar with James' body as he was and he found his thoughts straying to it even as he assured his wife that she had nothing to worry about.

He knew that Jessie wouldn't bring up their history, especially in front of Olivia. Maybe she would have once but even back then they had rarely spoken of it and it had tailed off naturally over time.

He pulled Olivia close and kissed her, reminding himself once again of exactly why he had fallen in love with her. Drawing back he slipped an arm around her waist and tugged her back towards their own room.

When he woke the next morning he found Olivia gone and when he glanced at the clock he knew why. "Quarter past ten!" He yelped. He never slept that late. He clambered out of bed, dislodging an indignant Chimecho who had apparently been curled up on his stomach.

He got dressed quickly and hurried downstairs to find both women sitting at the table drinking coffee in awkward silence. Meowth was chattering away about anything and everything paying no heed to the obvious atmosphere around the table. Or maybe he had noticed and was simply trying to dispel it. You never knew with him.

He poured himself a cup and joined them, kissing Olivia lightly as he sat down, relieved to see that Jessie showed no reaction whatsoever to the action.

"So, Jessie," Olivia began, her tone one of forced lightness. "Did you sleep okay?"

Jessie looked up. " Um, yeah, fine thanks."

"So you don't remember getting up at all?"

"No, why?" She was starting to look alarmed now so James quickly stepped in.

"You don't remember getting up last night and talking to me?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No. I sleepwalked?"

"Yeah." He replied. "You kinda spooked me actually, you said some really odd things."

"Like what?"

"Just random stuff. Nothing particularly relevant. You said Mondo was sweet, like a little brother. Then you said you didn't want a brother. Then you started on some stuff about the Boss and having to protect me but you were talking like I wasn't there. Then you ah..."

"Then I what?" Her tone was dangerous and he knew from experience that he better spill the beans.

"Then you just came over and kissed me."

"WHAT?! Why?" Why did you LET me?"

Meowth jumped up from the table, muttering something about going for a walk and sidled out of the room.

"Its not like I could have stopped you! Besides you shouldn't wake a sleepwalker!" He figured the fact that he hadn't known she was sleepwalking until after she kissed him was need-to-know information.

"Fair enough, I suppose but why would I do that anyway? You sure YOU weren't dreaming?"

Out the corner of his eye he saw Olivia's face flushing with anger. Jessie was obviously getting under her skin especially now some of her old attitude was starting to resurface.

"Pretty sure," He shot back. "You said it was goodbye, just in case."

She fell silent, an odd expression crossing her face.

"What?" He demanded. "Oh, no, you can't be serious!"

She got up, poured the rest of her coffee down the sink and started to leave the kitchen only to be stopped by James' hand grabbing her arm and pulling her back around.

"Are you INSANE?" He almost shouted.

"What do you want me to SAY?" She snapped back.

"I want you to tell me I'm crazy and you're not really considering this!"

"Well, I can't do that!" Her face softened slightly. "I'm sorry, James but I can't stay here. I put you two in danger every minute I'm here and maybe if it were just the two of us that would be okay but you have a wife to think about now. A life of your own."

"You can't run either, they almost caught you before. What makes you think you could get away, they're ALL over town, Jessie!"

"What makes YOU think you can hide me forever?! They'll find us James, its only a matter of time. If I run then at least if they catch me, I won't be taking you down with me. I'll leave Meowth with you too. Don't let him follow me if you can help it, tie him down if you have to."

He dodged in front of her as she tried to head for the stairs.

"Not letting you do this."

"You going to try and stop me?"

"Thinking about it."

She stared him down for a second before lunging forward, grabbing his shoulders and thrusting her knee into his stomach. He doubled over, choking with pain and leaned against the door frame trying to catch his breath as she slipped past him and up the stairs.

She returned less than a minute later with a backpack slung over her shoulder and paused to run a hand down his back in sympathy as he fought to stand up straight.

"Sorry, James. This is all for your own good."

She paused as she opened the door and looked back at her partner, still clutching the door frame for support trying to croak her name, despite hardly being able to breathe. She had always been good at self defence, she would never have made it out of HQ if she hadn't been but she felt a twinge of guilt at using it against her best friend.

"Love you." She whispered over her shoulder as she slipped out the door.


End file.
